Annie Awesome
by thebluecheat
Summary: Annie Adderall doesn't exist anymore.


Annie Awesome

Over the summer, Britta goes on a nondenominational mission trip to Guatemala with some environmentalist group she'd hooked up with on Craigslist of all places, Shirley takes her boys out of town to see their grandparents, and Pierce is visiting his mother. This means that Troy has Pierce's house to himself, and that he needs Jeff, Annie, and Abed to keep him company in it. So, much of the summer is spent making use of Pierce's huge pool and hot tub, cooking on Pierce's grill, and drinking Pierce's liquor (they replace most of it eventually).

Jeff is still shocked that he agreed to spend his summer like this, and moreso, that he's actually enjoying it. This is what happens when you take up with the likes of Annie Edison, he muses. You hang out with your friends and goof off and enjoy yourself.

Awesome.

He and Annie haven't told Troy or Abed that they're seeing each other. They haven't really discussed it themselves – it's just kind of happening, and Jeff really likes that. He's wondering, though, if Annie is going to explode at some point, given the lack of structure and labels. But she seems to be okay with it so far – he makes an effort to be mature in the beginning and ask her if she was okay with it. And she says it's fine – she's never done that before, and it's somewhat exhilarating to be living in the moment that way. So he's left it alone and reveling in the fact that he's getting to try out this thing with Annie with no one giving him crap about it. If Abed and Troy notice that the two of them sometimes sit closer to each other, or smile at each other in a somewhat-goopy manner, or occasionally sneak behind the pool house to make out, they don't let on. They're probably too distracted by whatever weird Abed/Troy thing they always have going. He doesn't question it.

So one night, Jeff suggests they go out to dinner instead of staying in, because he's tired of burnt hamburgers _a la Troy_ and wants something different, and wouldn't it be fun to go out?

They go to a casual Italian place not far from campus, and everyone's enjoying their food and having fun. Until Troy comes back from the men's room followed by Abed (okay, come on, that's just weird) and announces, "Guess who we just ran into in the bathroom?"

Annie and Jeff look at him blankly. "Blake Hines!" Troy tells them happily. "I haven't seen him since graduation!"

Annie tenses next to Jeff. "That's…_nice_." She looks past Troy and Abed and relaxes slightly when she doesn't see the boys in question anywhere. "Is he here with anyone else we know?"

"Yeah – Tammy Lerner. I told them to come by so we could all catch up!"

This time Annie goes rigid. "Why would you _do_ that?" she hisses.

"Duh, they're our old friends from high school!"

"_Duh_, they're _your_ old friends from high school! I don't want to see them! She locked me in a port-a-potty at our last game! Blake is the one who came up with the name 'Annie Adderol'!" She looks around frantically. "I need to go."

Jeff frowns and takes Annie's arm under the table. "Why do you care about seeing these people? You're all adults now. Kind of. And it's been a year, I'm sure they've matured since then. Look at you and Troy." He glances at Troy, who's lost interest in the conversation and is trying to attach his spoon to his nose and giggling. "Well, maybe just look at you."

"You don't get it!" Annie yanks her arm away. "It's not your reputation that got ruined in high school, and you're not the one they made fun of, and you're not the one who has to see the people who made your life hell in high school _right now!_" And she goes rigid again.

There's a guy walking up to their table in a Riverside High jacket despite the fact that it's nearly 90 degrees outside, and a girl in a halter top and a short skirt with bleach-blonde hair trailing behind him. "T-bone!" the guy yells, and Jeff tries not to roll his eyes, because no matter what Troy says, that is still the dumbest nickname ever.

"Hey, Blake, Tammy!" Troy winks at the girl.

Tammy simpers and makes flirtatious eyes at Troy (ugh, Jeff can't believe there are men that find that kind of obviousness attractive…well, maybe he used to, but now he's _mature_) while Troy stands and he and Blake fistbump, and then Troy motions to Jeff, Annie, and Abed. "Guys, these are my friends Jeff and Abed, and you already know Annie."

When Troy says Annie's name, Tammy snorts and has to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Annie stares her down quietly.

Blake doesn't bother to contain himself. "Edison! How's rehab treating you?" He laughs and high-fives Troy, who looks confused but high-fives him anyway, because Troy never turns down a high-five.

Annie glares. "I was only there for a month-"

"And then what, they kicked you out?" Blake guffaws. "They thought you were a loser there, too, right?"

Jeff is appalled by the guy's lack of class (really, who _raised_ this guy?) and wants so badly to let Annie handle this on her own and grow as a person and all that stuff, but, seriously? He just wants to smash this guy's car windows or something. He slings an arm around Annie's shoulders, pulling her closer, and grins at the guy. "Actually, Annie finished her program and then started at Greendale. And I know I'm glad, or we wouldn't have met." He squeezes Annie's shoulder for clarification. "Wouldn't that have sucked, babe?"

Annie gives him a small smile, and he feels like a king.

"Wait a sec," Blake turns to look at Jeff, confused. "Are you – are you _dating_ her?" Troy suddenly turns his attention from the girls to their conversation, as do a surprised Tammy and an expressionless-as-always Abed.

"Uh, _yeah_," Jeff says, like it's the dumbest question he's ever heard. Because it is, really. "Who wouldn't? She's a genius and a fox. Best combination ever."

"Oh, please." Glancing away from Troy, Tammy smirks. "She's smart, fine, but she's-"

"Hey Tammy," Troy suddenly turns back to her. "Don't hate on my friends, okay? It's not hot."

Tammy looks at Troy like he's grown another head. "What? It's just Annie Edison, for crying out loud. You made fun of her all the time in high school."

"Yeah, well, we're not in high school anymore, you know? And Annie's my friend. She's really cool."

"It's true," Abed offers, sitting back down. "Annie is incredibly cool."

"No movie or television reference?" Jeff asks him, surprised.

"Nope. Annie's so cool, she transcends film and television characters."

Troy is still facing off with Blake and Tammy. "Seriously, dude. It's not cool to talk about people like that. Annie's a nice person and we shouldn't have given her so much crap in high school. She's been a really good friend to me since we started at Greendale and if you're gonna talk about her like that, then you can leave."

"Whatever," Blake raises his hands in surrender. "I don't know what that school did to you, man, but you're weird now."

"Actually, he's not," Abed points out, attracting everyone's attention again. "He's moved on past his high school days, whereas you feel the need to cling to the highest point in your life because of your insecurity and lack of confidence as an adult." He pauses. "Sort of like Jerry O'Connell's character Trip McNeely in 'Can't Hardly Wait'."

Blake and Tammy have that deer-in-the-headlights look that people who are unfamiliar with Abed sometimes get, and then Annie, who's had her I'm-wrestling-with-something-in-my-mind face on for a few minutes, stands up and now she has her formidable face on. "Okay, you know what? I wasn't popular in high school. And you guys were jerks. It really sucked. And I used to harbor the desire for an apology, and for you guys to accept me and think I was cool. But you know what? I don't need it. I _am_ cool, with or without your validation. I have really awesome friends and I'm accomplishing things and I'm done living in the past. And I hope you guys can get to that point one day, because right now? You're a little bit pathetic."

"Um…okay." Blake and Tammy are a little bit shell-shocked, and after a few seconds of just standing there, they leave. Annie sits back down, smiling.

"You're awesome," Jeff grins at her, and she grins back. "I know," she says, and she kisses him. In front of Troy and Abed. It's hot.

When they pull apart, Jeff glances at the two sitting across from them. "So, uh…yeah. We're, sort of, uh…together?" He looks to Annie for confirmation. She nods.

"Oh, we knew that," Troy rolls his eyes. "We're not blind. You two have been cutesy and stuff all summer."

Abed nodded. "It's not really a big deal. I mean, it'll be weird when the others come back to town, but our group dynamic is really strong, like on _Friends_. And they were fine about Monica and Chandler getting together after a few episodes. Britta might be upset, and Shirley will probably want to support her, and Pierce will make inappropriate comments…but I think it'll turn out okay." He pauses. "It'll probably make for a good movie."

"Whatever," Jeff exhales. "Let's go back to Pierce's and raid the liquor cabinet again."

"Jeff!" Annie scolded. "We just restocked it!"

"Um, _duh_, that means there's liquor in there again. Time to empty it out." He smirks at her, and she rolls her eyes, but she's holding his hand under the table, so everything's fantastic. "Besides, we need to celebrate your formidable-ness with those two idiots. This calls for whiskey."

So they left, and went back to Pierce's, and Jeff may or may not have jumped up on a table and sang his rendition of "Party In The USA".

And it was an awesome summer. Just like Annie.


End file.
